There was some genuine excitement earlier this year when the co-op RTS Dwarfheim announced its multiplayer beta at the PC Gaming Show. It supports singleplayer action but as James said at the time, the real draw is its co-op mode, which enables up to three players to take on a different class—Builder, Miner, or Warrior—and work together to survive the harsh environment and enemy forces.
The only drawback, of course, is that if you want to enjoy that particular aspect of the game, you need to have friends who also own it. But no longer: Developer Pineleaf Studio has added a new Friend Pass option that enables anyone who owns it to play with their friends, even if they don't.
Non-owners can download and install the Friend Pass version from the Dwarfheim Steam page, and then input a code provided by the owner, available from the new "Invite Friend Pass" option in the main menu of the full game. Once that's done, the Friend Pass player can join the lobby, select their class of choice, and then have at it.
The addition of the Friend Pass comes as part of Dwarfheim's third content update, which also adds a custom game option (1v1, 2v2, and 3v3, in non-matchmade environment s), a new tutorial, expanded keybind options, and "unit type effects," aimed at deepening the game's strategic element.
"An Arbalist will now deal increased damage to a Berserker, which is a fast unit, while the Berserker will deal more damage towards a Shieldbearer which is an armored unit and so on," Pineleaf explained.
Dwarfheim launched into Steam Early Access in October, and is expected to go into full release sometime in summer 2021.
